1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a release agent for fabricating a release agent layer used for a liquid crystal display element without substrates, which is applied to assisting substrates in the process of producing a liquid crystal display so that the assembled liquid crystal display element can be separated from the assisting substrates and the liquid crystal display element without substrates is obtained.
2. Description of the Related Art
The application of flat panel display (FPD) has helped reduce the weight and volume of display. The currently available liquid crystal display (LCD) technologies employ passive scan or active matrix to display images, which however requires considerable thickness stability for precision control. Otherwise even slight deformation will lead to serious image distortion. To bring about the thinner and more impact-resistant FPD, some of the FPD technologies for conventional glass substrate process have shifted focus to the R&D of plastic substrate. The development of flexible FPD has brought FPD to a new prospect in terms of thinness, impact-resistance and ease of carriage.
As for the substrate of flexible FPD, plastic materials have received the most attention for their characteristics of being lighter, thinner, more impact-resistant, mobile, and easy to carry. But in processes with temperature of 200° C. or higher, plastic material is prone to deformation or even decomposition, hence limiting its dimensions and applications. To bypass the shortcomings of plastic substrate, FPD without substrates is expected to be the process that draws the focus attention.
The patent of Philips entitled Liquid Crystal Display Laminate and Method of Manufacturing Such filed with WIPO (WO02/42832 A2) and published in Nature in 2002 reveals a process for single substrate LCD. The process employs UV radiation to produce polymerization and at the same time form polymer-covered liquid crystal with PSCOF (phase separated composite organic film) structure, which maintains uniformity on curved screens.
In the efforts to develop the lighter and thinner flexible FPD without substrates having greater design flexibility, release agent is one of the key materials and technologies for the new process. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,603, an adhesive-repellent composition is provided, which can impart release properties to substrates coated therewith. Besides, an organopolysiloxane composition for the formation of a cured release film is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,264,499. However, the two US patents both do not disclose a process of manufacture a liquid crystal display element without substrates used in the present invention.
For release agent used in the flexible FPD process without substrates, the drawbacks of plastic material, including poor resistance to high temperature and being prone to deformation can be overcome. The formulation of release agent can also be adjusted to give it good and uniform releasability. Such release agent may be used in liquid crystal display process without substrates and the LCD fabricated thereof can be applied in mobile phones and PDA in the near future. In essence, this is new technology for PC and communication equipment makers in the development of personal mobile electronic reading system.